Blenheim Gilboa Inc. Reduces Hydraulic Oil Contamination Risks and Improves Sump Maintenance Efficiencies
Hydroelectric and pumped storage facilities rely on large volumes of circulating water to support turbines, hydraulic systems, and auxiliary infrastructure. When oil enters these systems, it can spread across containment areas, reduce water quality, and increase both maintenance workload and environmental management requirements.
Oil and Water Don’t Mix: An Abanaki Oil Grabber Model 8 Success Story
Small spots of motor oil on your driveway look tacky enough. Leaks of hydraulic oil from the hydro turbine of a big pumped-storage plant are not only more noticeable, but could end up in the facility’s sump or reservoir.
At the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project in New York’s Catskill Mountains, there’s another reason leaks are unacceptable. The New York Power Authority (NYPA), which built and operates the facility, recently received the U.S. Interior Department’s highest outdoor recreation award for its stewardship of an adjacent 650-acre park that the NYPA built in conjunction with the project.
The Model 8 oil skimmer can remove oil at a rate of 40 gallons per hour. These units can also be fitted with accessories such as heaters, debris rakes, and belt and tail pulley tethers.
Upon demand, Blenheim-Gilboa can generate hydropower up to 1,040 MW within just two minutes. When demand peaks, the “plant” is put into service by emptying water from an upper reservoir into a lower one. During off-peak periods, the same water is pumped back to higher elevation. NYPA’s solution to the potentially embarrassing leak problem was to add an Oil Grabber® Model 8 from Abanaki Corporation to the facility’s sump.
Mounted above the sump at a location open to inspection, the unit detects and removes floating oil before it reaches the lower reservoir. Any oil in the sump first adheres to the belt, is then removed by wipers, and finally discharged to a drum. The presence of oil on the belt is easily observed by operators. The skimmer provides early and reliable leak detection and removes the oil from the sump.
